MUMBAI, JAN 18: Over 3,000 workers of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at the Mumbai airport have decided launch an agitation from February 1, challenging the Photo Identity Cards (PICs) issued to them. The workers have termed the move ``senseless and arbitrary''.``We have written to the authorities concerned on two occasions and also pointed out in various meetings thereafter that the nature of work of AAI staff has not been properly identified at the time of issuing the PICs,'' International Airports Authority of India Workers' Union general secretary, L S Dewarde told Express Newsline. The union issued a formal notice in this regard to the management on Monday, he said.``Most personnel in the engineering maintenance departments of civil, electrical, electronics and also those in the management housekeeping department like cleaners, who are required to work all over the airport have been issued PICs of a colour pattern which prohibit their entry to any of the various security holds,'' headded.``What has happened now, is that if a technician working on the AC unit, or a plumber has been issued a PIC which allows him to attend to a fault even in the most high-risk security zone, his helper cannot go with him just as he does not have a PIC of the same colour. The cleaners have a tough time as every time they have to enter a restricted area, they are harassed by the police to get proper authorisation,'' Dewarde explained.Only last week, cleaners were not allowed to enter a restricted zone at the international airport, and they threatened to go on a flash strike. The union then took a decision that the personnel will work only in those areas where their PICs can give them access, and not go out of their way to get special permission from the police to work in a restricted area.The apathetic attitude of the AAI has not even spared the important fire fighting department at the airport. The firemen whose services could be required in any area of the airport also have yellow passes. Theybeen demanding red passes, but a proposal in that regard is pending with the headquarters in Delhi for the last six months.In fact, he criticised the AAI for issuing purple passes to all airline employees, even if their services were not required beyond their respective office areas. ``Even a peon of an airline has been issued a purple PIC, but it is only its own employees that the AAI is not bothered about,'' he said.At present the AAI issues yellow, blue, purple and red PICs to various employees depending on the nature of their work, automatically restricting their access to areas where their services are not required. While a blue PIC allows unrestricted entry to only the non-security areas of the airport, the purple ones provide access to AAI employees anywhere in the airport, including the restricted zones. The red PICs are issued to staff of airlines, cockpit and cabin crew and other workers, allowing them access even to the runway. The yellow PICs can be used by an employee to gain access to theairport building at any airport in the country.The AAI is currently issuing new PICs, as the present ones already expired in November, 1995, but their validity was extended by three years. However, even this time, AAI management has not solved this simple problem for which the workers are being harassed for no reason, Dewarde claimed.
